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ADDRESS OF GREETING 



FROM 



THE ESSEX INSTITUTE 



THE LYNN HISTORICAL SOCIETY 



ON THE 



OCCASTOX 



TENTH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION 



December 18, 1906 



DKIJVERED BY 

ABNEK C. GOODELL 



Gift 



v 



Mr. President, Ladies and (rentlemen : 

I have the honor to be charged by Gen. Appleton, 
the worthy President of the Essex Institute, witli the agree- 
able duty of conveying to the Lynn Historical Society, 
on the tenth anniversary of its formation, the greetings of 
the Institute. Being one of the one hundred and seventy 
odd members who on the memorable seventeenth of April, 
eighteen hundred and ninety seven, with two others ouly 
who subscribed one month earlier, constitute the pioneers 
of this body ; and moreover, having been an earl}^ member 
of another organization formed fifty -four jears ago, which 
may properly be deemed the progenitor of the flourishing 
Historical Society of to-day, I trust I shall not be regarded 
as intrusive or presumptuous if I do not confine myself 
strictly to a perfunctory compliance with the letter of my 
commission, but take the liberty to ask you to follow me in 
a brief review of the past, for the purpose of comparison 
and to find encouragement for the future. I feel authorized 
to say that the Institute makes no claim to distinction be- 
cause of priority or pre-eminence in either of the two 
branches — natural and civic history — in the pursuit of which 
members of both societies have so creditably engaged. 

Neither the society in Salem nor this in Lynn, can 
claim corporate or permanent existence for nmch more than 
seventy years. The Essex Institute, you know, was legally 
incorporated in 1848, uniting the Essex County Society of 
Natural History, organized in 1883, and incorporated in 
1836 with the Essex County Historical Society, organized 
and incorporated in 1821. 

In like manner, though beginning somewhat later 

(1) 



than the Salem experiment, the progress of development of 
social, literary and scientific societies in Lynn, culminating 
in the formation of this society, may be summarized thus : — 
Beginning with the Franklin Club of 1836-7, next the Social 
Union of 1843, then the Exploring Circle of 1850, and 
finally the Young Men's Debating Society of 1852, which 
continued until 1859, transferring a part of its membership 
to the Library Association in 1855, and its remaining mem- 
bers finally merging into the Society whose tenth anniver- 
sary we this evening commemorate. 

In comparing the status in literature and science of 
the rival societies in Lynn and Salem, it is evident that 
Lynn has no cause for humiliation at the contrast. In 1850, 
when Lynn became a city, her population, including the 
inhabitants of Swampscott and Nahant, which had not then 
been set off into separate townships, was little more than 
14,000, whereas Salem then contained something more than 
20,000. Again the Salem society embraced the whole 
county of Essex, including Lynn, and was located in the 
center of a population containing an exceptionally large 
proportion of college graduates, upon whose cooperation 
they depended, whereas the Lynn societies were mainly local 
in their constitution and fields of research. 

Another comparison favorable to Lynn in priority 
of date and excellence of compilation, is its contribution to 
local history. Alonzo Lewis's History of Lynn first appeared 
in 1829. This work which was unrivalled, had been pre- 
ceded by only three other histories of Essex County towns. 
These were, first, the History of Newbur3^port, by Caleb 
Cushing, announced in 1822, but not published until four 
years later, — a small duodecimo, the Civic history therein 
narrated being comprised in 32 pages, a work of infinitely 



less labor and interest than Lewis's History. Felt's Annals 
of Salem, a work much in the style of the ordinary inter- 
leaved almanac but valuable for its abundance of historical 
data which the author's official connection with the Massa- 
chusetts Historical Society, and the opportunities he had 
enjoyed in assorting and arranging the papers in the office 
of the Secretary of the Commonwealth, enabled him to col- 
lect free of expense, appeared first, in 1827 ; and the Rev. 
Abiel Abbot's History of Andover, published the same year 
in which the History of Lynn appeared, a small volume, 
which, if issued for the first time to-day, would hardly be 
deemed worthy to be classed with town histories. Succeed- 
ing these have appeared Felt's Annals of Ipswich, in 1834 ; 
Edwin Martin Stone's History of Beverly, in 1843, Joshua 
Coffin's History of Newburyport, in 1845, Rev. John W. 
Hanson's History of Danvers, in 1848. 

These discursive outlines of the story of the rise and 
progress of towns in Essex County are types of all later 
publications, with the exception of J. J. Babson's truly 
thorough and valuable "History of Cape Ann." Lewis's 
first edition furnished a model to" the best writers of town 
histories and gave an impulse toward improvement which is 
still felt throughout New England, and, to-day, with the 
additions and amendments made by James R. Newhall, it 
maintains its high place in that class of literature. 

In some branches of natural science in the pursuit 
of which the Institute and this society have vied, the public 
is indebted to Lynn for valuable contributions. Without 
attempting to specify all instances in this line I point to 
Cyrus M. Tracy's classification of Essex County plants which 
the Institute has incorporated in its Proceedings, this being 
a notable case of assumption by the Institute of credit for 



work which might have been claimed as exclusively due to 
Lynn. 

Leaving out of consideration the field of romance 
and original poetry, we may compare some notable instances 
of competitive achievements in philology by scholars in 
Lynn and Salem respectively. 

It is a great distinction which Salem claims in having 
produced the author of the fi'^st Greek and English lexicon, 
John Pickering, who, also, jointly with Daniel Appleton 
White, so long president of the Institute, gave to the 
world the first critical edition of Sallust, but these achieve- 
ments are more than offset by the equally profound and 
more useful Grammar of English Grammars, by Goold 
Brown, of Lynn, a work so thorough and exhaustive, so 
critically exact in every detail, and so fortified by refer- 
ences to examples of the usage of the best writers of the 
English tongue, and analogies in other languages, that it 
well deserves to stand as the final authority in all disputes 
concerning the syntax of our mother tongues. The title 
of this book being metaphrastic of the title of the French 
"Grammaire des Grammaires" of Gerault Duvivier, does not 
imply, as some may have supposed, that its author arrogantly 
claimed for it absolute superiority, but merely that it was a 
critical examen of the rules laid down by other grammarians, 
which rules he used to illustrate the errors against which it 
was his purpose to warn his reader. There is nothing that 
I remember in the field of literarj^ criticism more amusing 
than the adroit manner in which he detects the faults of his 
predecessors, and the merciless assurance with which he con- 
victs the offenders. This book alone establishes the fame 
of Lynn as the home of this eminent Quaker scholar. 

Nothing struck me more forcibly in my intercourse 



with the young men with whom I came in contact as a mem- 
ber of the Young Men's Debating Society than their quick 
wit and general intelligence, and the intellectual superiority 
and literary acquirements of many of them. It may be 
invidious to dwell on this head, to which justice cannot be 
done with such brevity as the occasion requires, but I venture 
to mention one or two instances ; — first, James Edward 
Oliver, the accomplished mathematician. Mathematics had 
been a hobby in the Salem High School, insomuch that 
Master Henr}^ K. Oliver had found it necessary to import 
Ingram's Mathematics from England, as a text-book, which, 
beginning with the elements of algebra, geometry and trigo- 
nometry, proceeded through the mensuration of surfaces and 
solids, conic sections to unguloe, surveying, gauging, gunnery 
the works of artificers, strength of materials, spherical trigo- 
nometry, and the use and construction of logarithms. But 
in my accjuaintance with the modest James Edward I found 
a raathoraatician to whom my studies in Salem were but a 
rudimentary primer. Later, away from home, he found full 
appreciation among others devoted to his favorite science, 
and svon a national reputation. 

Another similar case is that of ray lamented friend, 
and your associate, Theodore Attwill. Having taught Latin 
and Greek as assistant instructor in the Lynn High School 
he retired to devote himself to the more lucrative calling of 
the "gentle craft," but continuing his studies at leisure he 
became proficient in the literature of other languages. He 
was also particularly interested in the study of early English 
history and literature ; Chaucer and Camden were his favor- 
ites, and he had a wide acquaintance with continental writers. 
I may apostrophize him as Pope did Swift, as being at 
home — 



"Whether thou choose Cervantes' serious air 
Or laugh and shake in Rabelais' easy chair." 

It is a pity that so many bright young fellows with 
every natural qualification to gratify a lofty ambition to 
make themselves and others supremely happy by the full 
exercise of their genius in the pursuit of science and litera- 
ture should have been deprived of the opportunity by the in- 
satiable wolf at the door, so touchingly lamented by Gray : — 

"Chill penury repressed their noble rage 
And froze the genial current of their soul." 

But this state of things could not last and will cease forever 
if you so determine. The growing wealth of your city and 
the increased profit of new industries will enable you to 
lend a hand to every ambitious deserving son of toil who 
needs assistance in climbing from the depths of discourage- 
ment and despair into which he has fallen or is in imminent 
danger of falling for want of pecuniary assistance, and to 
to aff'ord efficient aid to genius struggling for recognition. 

The valuation of Lynn in 1850 was nearly five 
millions ; in 1905 this had increased to over 56 millions ; and 
a century hence this last amount will be more than doubled. 
In the disposal of these riches this society will doubtless 
in some respects have a determining voice. I predict for 
those living at that happy day that they will see this 
society housed in a temple of spacious and exquisite archi- 
tecture, designed and ornamented by native artists, with 
statues of the men whom we have seen conducting^ the schools 
and promoting the arts which have supplanted the humble 
schoolhouse and shoe-shop of their forefathers. By that 
time the Public Library will rival the best in the land, so 
that you will have no need to seek information or revel in 
delights of literature elsewhere. 



Lynn has the best natural attractions that could be 
desired. On seaside and hillside, and in the plains between, 
your naturalists with the aid of your Park Commissioners 
will restore to your great public garden, the magnolia and 
the laurel which have been exiled to the woods of Cape Ann 
and the shores of the Merriniac ; the bobolink will consort 
with his old-time companions, the song-sparrow who has 
never left you, and other sweet singers, remembered but 
now rarely heard, and the flaming oriole and other birds of 
beauty. The swamp pink and the white blossoming dog- 
wood will again be companions of the fragrant sweet fern 
and the bayberry ; and columbines and lilies will unlade 
their fragrance and expose their delicate charms. 

This cit}^ already has an abundant supply of whole- 
some sweet water and invites the stranger to visit its attrac- 
tive beaches that rival in beauty the shores of the Bay of 
Naples, to mitigate the heats of summer, for those who 
court the cool sea air on an excursion only a few minutes 
away from the metropolis. 

The vision expands ; and I must leave to you who have 
any imagination the details of a picture as beautiful as 
Milton describes the view from the hill of science : "so 
smooth, so green, so full of goodly prospect and melodious 
sounds on every side that the harp of Orpheus was not 
more charminsr." 



OCT 14 190/ 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



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LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 




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